Woodbranch Plans New Residential High-Rise for Downtown Houston

By Liviu Oltean, Associate Editor

The plethora of office projects either under construction or close to breaking ground in Houston has given real estate companies incentive to focus on more and more residential projects. One such project is Market Square Tower, a 40-story luxury high-rise on which Woodbranch Investments Corp. plans to break ground in coming weeks.

Market Square Tower will feature residences ranging from 550-square-foot efficiencies to 1,950-square-foot units, with a limited number of penthouses also included in the project plans. The average layout will have approximately 1,275 square feet, with a rent of roughly $3,500, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. According to an official statement, amenities will include a virtual golf simulator, an indoor basketball court, a screening and banquet room, and two pools – one near the bottom and one near the top of the tower.

“But perhaps most unique to the Houston market,” said Philip Schneidau, president of Woodbranch’s Houston office, “will be Market Square Tower’s wrap-around rooftop amenities, which have breathtaking panoramic vistas of the downtown Houston skyline and Buffalo Bayou Park – all from 500 feet above street level.” The rooftop amenities include a cloud lounge, sky gym, sundeck and sky pool. A portion of the sky pool is encased in glass, including the bottom, and cantilevers beyond the face of the building.

The tower’s design is being handled by Jackson & Ryan Architecture, which also designed other Houston-area multifamily properties, such as Museum Tower and the Post Oak Lofts in the Galleria area.

Located at 777 Preston, the site has been owned by Woodbranch since 1995 and is a full city block bounded by Milam, Preston, Louisiana and Congress. The tower will be in the neighborhood of another residential project expected to be completed by fall 2016 – Hines Market Square, a 33-story, 289-unit building featuring ground-floor retail and a podium garage. Another potential development in the area is International Tower, a 41-story, 750,000-square-foot office tower from Stream Realty and Essex Commercial Properties.